Mann weighed 9.9 ounces - less than a can of soda - when she was born at Loyola University Medical Center (Loyola) in 1989. She is the smallest surviving baby in the world and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.  

Now 15, Mann has no major health issues and is thriving academically and socially, having entered high school this fall. She wants to become a psychologist to help other people with their challenges. At birth, Mann faced plenty of her own obstacles.   

"I remember hearing the softest sound, almost like a kitten. Then I realized it was Madeline crying once she was born," said Robyn Leslie, Mann's mother. She had no idea what to expect because of Mann's extremely low weight, but what her newborn received was the finest modern medicine has to offer.  

Leslie and her physicians knew Mann would be small because Leslie had been diagnosed with preeclampsia, which is a dangerous condition of high blood pressure in pregnant women and a common cause of prematurity and low-birth weight.  

Mann was cared for in Loyola's 50-bed neonatal intensive care unit, which features the latest in medical technology in a supportive, family-friendly environment. The unit has approximately 500 admissions per year, and Loyola has cared for more than 1,700 newborns weighing less than two pounds in the past two decades.   

Loyola or Loyola-trained physicians have cared for seven of the 38 surviving babies in the United States who were less than 13 ounces at birth. Highly experienced nursing and respira-tory therapy staff are critical to Loyola's renowned success with neonates, noted Jonathan Muraskas, M.D., professor of pediatrics and neonatal/perinatal medicine at Loyola University Health System. Many of the unit's support staff members have 20 years experience or more in neonatal care.   

Muraskas cared for Mann during the first four months of her life. He published a correspondence about her progress in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.   

"People are fascinated with the issue of birth weight, but actually, birth weight is not as important as gestational age in determining a baby's survival and development," Muraskas said. A baby born at 23 weeks has about a 10 percent chance of surviving without handicaps, but by 27 weeks, a baby has a 90 percent chance of surviving without major handicaps. Mann was born by Caesarean section at 26 weeks and 6 days.  

Muraskas is more impressed by Mann's "remarkable" development than by her survival. "The level of her cognitive development is truly miraculous," he said. "Her grade-point has averaged 3.7 for the last eight years, and the results of her high school entrance examination were in the 83rd percentile nationally."  

Mann has been hospitalized only once, for a case of pneumonia at age 4, although she has occasional bouts of asthma. Despite being of somewhat below-average weight and height, she is well adjusted, active and full of spirit.   

Through her involvement in various community service projects, Mann also has been willing to share her spirit with others. Last summer, for example, she participated in Harper College's Linus project, in which blankets are made and distributed to pediatric cancer patients. During junior high school, she worked in a food pantry, assisted and interacted with residents at a nursing home and, most recently, traveled to Grand Rapids, Mich., where she helped rehabilitate houses.  

She is "the light of my life and many lives," Leslie said. "I want her to share her spirit with everyone. She is a great gift."  

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